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Court Questions Tax Breaks
Given to Clergy for Housing

Members of the clergy may work in the house of the Lord, but many of them live in homes subsidized by a little-known tax break that a federal appeals court could soon declare illegal.

Known as a "parsonage allowance," the break allows clergy to exempt from their federal income taxes a portion of their salary earmarked for housing costs. The allowance makes it possible for about 850,000 mostly low-paid clergy across the country to live in the communities they serve.